Your best (and worst!) bass gear purchases of 2024?

[Jerry_B]

I bought this 1986 Westone Spectrum GT earlier this year, which was a nice find. They don't turn up for sale very often but this one was on Ebay quite cheaply so I snapped it up. It's in a particular shade of red that my phone camera can't capture very well. Initially I wasn't sure about it as the bridge pickup sounded very thin and it has a quite odd volume/tone/tone arrangement with a push/pull phase reverse on the volume control. However, after taking it apart and doing a bit of work to raise the pickup height, it's turned into a very giggable bass.

[LeftyJ]

Best:

- Sandberg California VS Lionel (shortscale).

- LaBella Deep Talking Flats for said Sandberg. I've always preferred the zing of new roundwounds, but on the Sandberg they just made sense and I enjoy them a lot!

 

Worst:

- Sadowsky MetroExpress Hybrid 5 fretless. It's a fun bass, but has some annoying QC issues. I still haven't decided if it's a keeper after two weeks of owning it. I haven't had much time to play it yet as I need to learn some new songs for my band which require the use of a downtuned fretted 5. 

- Line6 HX Stomp XL. Great piece of kit, but a bit of an impulse buy that I really didn't need. I've probably used it only three times since acquiring it in May. 

- Nordstrand Nordymute (x2). Another impulse buy, even when I already knew they're wildly overpriced for a piece of scrap wood with some foam glued to the bottom.

[bnt]

On 13/12/2024 at 15:27, bnt said:

I've only purchased pedals this year, so:

 

Correction: I bought the Squier CV Bass VI back in February, though it feels like longer ago. That would be my best purchase. It's not perfect e.g. it has a flaw in the wiring, and I'm still tightening the truss rod after installing heavier strings, but it has been a real help with pick playing.

[Rich]

Best: Novation MiniNova synth. Loads of fun. Love it.

 

Worst: TC Spectracomp. I'm sure it's very clever, but it's impossible to tweak settings on the fly. Very definitely not the compressor for me. 

[Aidan63]

Best : Xotic Effects Bass RC Booster pedal, off Ebay, set to 'B15' voice it just works, is simple and small, runs on battery, and very cost effective

Worst : Squier, Samick made, CV Racing Stripe Mustang, off here, I have cleaned the neck and strings multiple times with isopropyl and I can still smell previous owners aftershave on my hand after playing it and its made the case smell too - its lighter than my seafoam green Cort made one, but doesn't sound as good - still pondering doing a pickup change a la PawnShop to it

[Stub Mandrel]

23 hours ago, Jerry_B said:

I bought this 1986 Westone Spectrum GT earlier this year, which was a nice find. They don't turn up for sale very often but this one was on Ebay quite cheaply so I snapped it up. It's in a particular shade of red that my phone camera can't capture very well. Initially I wasn't sure about it as the bridge pickup sounded very thin and it has a quite odd volume/tone/tone arrangement with a push/pull phase reverse on the volume control. However, after taking it apart and doing a bit of work to raise the pickup height, it's turned into a very giggable bass.

 

My brother has one. Dave Brock played a Spectrum guitar for several years.

[peteb]

Right then, the best would be:

Thumpinator – a high pass filter for getting rid of low frequencies that you can’t normally hear. I’ve played a few venues where there is something odd going on with the low frequencies on the bass guitar, so you end up having to take out all the bottom end leaving you with a less than inspiring bass tone. When I’ve played the same places this year, the Thumpinator seems to have sorted that out at a stroke!  

Caveman preamp pedal – a bit of a luxury and it’s not as if you couldn’t gig without it, but a quality piece of kit that sounds great and gives you more options, both live and recording. Not cheap, but worth it. 

 

The worst:

MXR octave pedal –I was thinking of getting rid of my existing octave pedal but decided to keep it just in case. Then I saw a MXR going cheap secondhand and now I have two octave pedals that I don’t use. It’s a really good pedal, but I never use it! There’s got to be some other use for it other than playing ‘I’m Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down’ in soundchecks!  

NUX C-5rc wireless system – it’s not bad, but I have had a few issues with it and I’m not going to use it at bigger gigs. It will have its uses, such as rehearsals or jams and small gigs where I don’t want to bring my pedalboard that has the Shure GLDX receiver on it. It is what it is – OK but not great. 

 

Jury still out:

A stripped late 70s P bass – looks cool and sounds great, but it isn’t going to replace my other 70s P bass as my go-to bass of that type. I didn't pay too much money all things considered and I’m still getting to grips with it. Jon Shuker is going to do some work on the frets to get it just right, so it will be a player (as Jon said when he saw it). However, if anything really cool came up that I just had to have, then I suspect that this would be the bass that would have to make way (I could be wrong though, lets see what it is like when I get it properly sorted out)! 

 

Edited December 16, 2024 by peteb

[paul_5]

10 hours ago, Rich said:

Worst: TC Spectracomp. I'm sure it's very clever, but it's impossible to tweak settings on the fly. Very definitely not the compressor for me. 

Me too; it was great when hooked up to my MacBook, but less so for live stuff.

Edited December 16, 2024 by paul_5

[Jerry_B]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

My brother has one. Dave Brock played a Spectrum guitar for several years.

 

I've been playing Spectrums since '88. Still have my original Spectrum DX (see pic) and it's still going strong. Generally I really like Westones (I have a few) but the Spectrums are my particular fave.

[Chadu25]

Best purchase for me is this beautiful Fender American Vintage II 60s Precision bass I got for my birthday. Before this I’ve owned a Fodera Monarch 4 Standard and a Lakland 55-94 which are fantastic basses and superb build quality. Would’ve kept both but I can’t justify keeping too many high value basses since I rarely do pub gigs now. 
 

This one felt home for me. And I find myself going for a simpler setup. I’ve not even coveted or GASsed on other basses since getting this. I’m months sober on checking out other basses. My goal now is to have this beauty age and just keep playing it. 
 

Pedal wise, I’ve not had any bad/worse purchase. It’s more of me wanting to try new gear when I can that’s why you’ll see me post new iterations of my board in the thread lol. I easily move on with board setups and find myself in a rabbit hole of constantly GASsing on different stomp boxes

 

 

 

Edited December 18, 2024 by Chadu25

[chriswareham]

On 15/12/2024 at 21:12, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Well played that man.

 

Well, woman actually:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yx_Sqq6jooI

[Stub Mandrel]

On 18/12/2024 at 12:26, Chadu25 said:

Best purchase for me is this beautiful Fender American Vintage II 60s Precision bass I got for my birthday. Before this I’ve owned a Fodera Monarch 4 Standard and a Lakland 55-94 which are fantastic basses and superb build quality. Would’ve kept both but I can’t justify keeping too many high value basses since I rarely do pub gigs now. 
 

This one felt home for me. And I find myself going for a simpler setup. I’ve not even coveted or GASsed on other basses since getting this. I’m months sober on checking out other basses. My goal now is to have this beauty age and just keep playing it. 
 

Pedal wise, I’ve not had any bad/worse purchase. It’s more of me wanting to try new gear when I can that’s why you’ll see me post new iterations of my board in the thread lol. I easily move on with board setups and find myself in a rabbit hole of constantly GASsing on different stomp boxes

 

 

 

 

I have a sunburst one, they are wonderful.

 

I do find it hard to see the brown side dots on the join between brown fingerboard and deep amber neck. My partner kindly used her Silhouette machine to cut me lots of 3/32" dots in white high stick vinyl. Reversible solution and now it will see more gigs.

 

Like you I'm hoping it ages gracefully and not too slowly!

[Bagman]

Free The Tone Silky Compressor 

 

VCA type. Best I’ve used 

[80Hz]

Best purchase this year was my Jazz Bass. Nothing fancy, just a MIM Player series but it plays great, sounds the business, and I love the colour (not for everyone I'm sure!) 😀

 

Ordered online from Guitar Village and it was well set up out of the box. I haven't needed to adjust anything. Happy camper here.

 

[SteveXFR]

I sold all my gear earlier this year. Does that count as a bad purchase?

I did pick up a new MIM Fender Jazz bass for £475. I think that counts as a good purchase even if it was for the daughter 

[lozkerr]

Best has to be my Sterling Stingray 5. Its punch sounded fabulous in the shop and blew me away when I first gigged it.

 

Worst has to be a Boss bass overdrive. No matter how much I twiddled the knobs, I could never get a decent sound out of it. I've replaced it with an EHX which I hope will be an improvement.

[ASW]

I've had quite a successful year in that I like everything I've bought so far.

 

Ibanez Ehb1506ms: Lightweight, sounds good, very easy to play and I find the higher strings much easier to play when reading music as I don't have to jump about so much.

 

Durham Electronics Sex Drive: A very light boost pedal which seems to make everything sound better. It has some subtle compression settings on it too. They are designed for guitar, but a couple of friends have used them for bass for years, so I had to try one! I use it for guitar and bass gigs.

 

Shure Glxd16+: I wanted a wireless to make sound checks easier, especially when the bass is not going through the front of house PA. It's difficult to know how it sounds in the room if you're tied to the amp with a cable. It works flawlessly, is rugged and sounds indistinguishable from a cable.

 

Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 v2: I'm still getting used to this as I changed the cab I'm using at the same time as the amp. It has just the right number of controls. It's simple, but with enough variation available to find the sound I'm after. I prefer a more vintage sound, so this suits me well.

 

Barefaced One10: I had the Big Baby but there was something about the sound of it I didn't like. It was almost too good! I'm quite lazy too, so the idea of having a cab (or two) that I can carry with extreme ease appealed to me. They sound great and round off the edges of the sound rather than being too transparent (which hides more poor technique perfectly)! I would like the option of more highs though, so am on the lookout for one with a tweeter... and then I'll use all three together!

 

Fender Tony Franklin fretless Precision: I bought this on a whim from a local auction. I've never played fretless before, but thought if I'm going to get one, may as well be a half decent one. I was surprised by how much easier it is to play than I expected (much like the Ibanez 6 string). It also sounds amazing too, so I'm cconsidering switching to this from a fretted Jazz Bass for one band I'm in. It's quite light too which is a bonus!

 

Phil Jones Bass X4: I wanted something small for home practice and this seemed to fit the bill. It's a bit too clean sounding for my liking and even rolling the treble off completely, it's still too bright. It's the worst purchase this year, but still ok. However, the next item fixes the issue...

 

Origin Effects DCX Bass: A nice tone shaper and overdrive if required. I use it straight into studio monitors or into the Phil Jones Bass X4 and like the interaction between the controls and the subtle compression that adding a bit of drive gives.

 

I've decided not to buy anything in 2025 though except the aforementioned Barefaced One10T if one comes up for sale.

 

 

[Stub Mandrel]

My brother gave me a very nice leather strap and one if those 'neck support' blocks for luthiers.

 

Not much later he asked me to tweak the nut on one of his guitars... coincidence? 

[Chadu25]

My last minute year end purchase. I know this will be good as I’ve been on the hunt for this pedal. Planning on pairing this with my Neptunium for a 2 pedal micro board project. 
 

Happy Christmas bass friends!